The present invention relates to telephone services and in particular to telephone services in which a message may be recorded, for subsequent playback, when a called telephone device cannot be reached.
Telephone answering services which enable a recorded message to be left when a called telephone cannot be reached (e.g. it is busy, unanswered, or switched off) are generally made available in one of two ways. Firstly, the telephone itself may have integrated thereinto, or may be directly connected to, a voice recorder such as a tape cassette recorder or a solid state memory recorder. When a third party makes a call to the telephone, and for example the call is unanswered, the caller is connected to the voice recorder and is able to leave a message. The second way in which an answering service may be made available is to provide a voice recorder in the telephone network. Each subscriber to the network has assigned to him a xe2x80x9cvoice mailboxxe2x80x9d. In the event that the called telephone cannot be reached, the caller is connected to the voice mailbox where a voice message can be left. When the called telephone becomes free, or is switched on, a message is forwarded to the telephone from the network to notify the subscriber that there is a message in his mailbox. The subscriber can then call a mailbox number to listen to the recorded message. This second option is preferred in the case of cellular telephone networks as it allows a message to be left even if a voice channel cannot be opened to the called telephone.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a voice communication method comprising:
initiating a telephone call from a first to a second telephone device;
in the event that a voice channel cannot be opened between the first and second telephone devices, recording a voice message at the first telephone device; and
subsequently transmitting said recorded message directly from the first to the second telephone device without necessarily requiring further user input.
The term xe2x80x9cdirectlyxe2x80x9d used above indicates that, whilst the recorded message is transmitted from the first to the second telephone device via the telephone network, the message is not stored in a voice mailbox assigned to the second telephone device. It will also be appreciated that the subsequent transmission of the recorded message is carried out automatically by the first telephone device in co-operation with the telephone network and the second telephone device.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the method comprises transmitting a message from the network, to which the first telephone device subscribes, to the first telephone device to notify the first device when a voice channel can be opened to the second device and in response to this notification opening a voice channel between the two devices and transmitting said recorded message. The recorded message is held in a xe2x80x9cdocument outboxxe2x80x9d of the first telephone device until the voice channel becomes available. Where the first telephone device is a cellular telephone subscribing to a GSM cellular telephone network, said notification may be made by way of a Completion of Call on Busy Subscriber (CCBS) message.
In a second embodiment of the present invention, where both the first and second telephone devices are cellular telephones and subscribe to the same or different cellular telephone networks, the recorded message is converted at the first device into a data signal and is transmitted to the second device over a signalling channel or channels. The data signal is received by the second device over said signalling channel(s) where it is converted back to a voice signal for subsequent playback. Where the telephone devices both subscribe to a GSM cellular telephone network, said data signal may be transferred as a short message service (SMS) message or a set of concatenated SMS messages.
Embodiments of the present invention may comprise transmitting a pre-recorded voice message (e.g. a voice header) together with said recorded message from the first to the second device. Alternatively, or in addition, the method may comprise transmitting a text message together with said recorded message.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a telephone device comprising;
telephone call initiating means for initiating a call to another telephone device;
detection means for detecting when a voice channel cannot be opened to the called telephone device;
recording means for recording a voice message; and
transmitting means for automatically transmitting the recorded message directly to the called telephone device.
In one embodiment of the invention, the telephone device comprises means for receiving a notification signal from the network to which the device subscribes indicating that a voice channel can be opened to the called telephone device, said transmitting means being responsive to said notification signal to open a voice channel to the called telephone device and to transmit the recorded message over that channel.
In an alternative embodiment, the telephone device is a cellular telephone and comprises signal processing means for converting the recorded voice message into a data signal which can be sent to the called telephone device over a signalling channel or channels. Where the telephone device subscribes to a GSM network, said signal processing means may be arranged to transmit the recorded message as an SMS message or as a set of concatenated SMS messages.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a voice communication method comprising:
initiating a telephone call from a first to a second telephone device;
in the event that a voice channel cannot be opened between the first and second telephone devices, recording a voice message at the first telephone device;
transmitting a message from the telephone network to the first telephone device to indicate when a voice channel can be opened to the second telephone device;
opening a voice channel from the first telephone device following receipt of said message; and
subsequently transmitting said recorded message to the second telephone device over the open voice channel.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a voice communication method comprising:
initiating a telephone call from a first to a second telephone device;
in the event that a voice channel cannot be opened between the first and second telephone devices, recording a voice message at the first telephone device;
converting the recorded message into a data message or set of data messages; and
transmitting the data message(s) to the second telephone device over a signalling channel or channels.